The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9 to 3 to keep short-term interest rates at 3.50 to 3.75 percent at yesterday's meeting, in line with market expectations. The three members who voted for a 0.25 percentage point increase were Beth Hammack, president of the Cleveland Fed, Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed, and Lorie Logan, president of the Dallas Fed, who expressed concern that inflation has remained above the 2 percent target for more than five years. Meanwhile, a CNN/SSRS poll shows President Donald Trump's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level ever, with only 34 percent satisfied and strong disapproval surging to a record high of 50 percent. President Trump told Fox News that the United States will hit Iran hard following an attack on US forces in Jordan. Elon Musk said in an interview with The Economist that AI could surpass the combined intelligence of all humans within five years. Two senior United Nations officials urged the international community to rapidly scale up assistance to tackle the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is spreading faster than current response capabilities. In addition, the Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at today's meeting amid inflationary pressure from the Iran war, which has kept the Strait of Hormuz closed for the past five months.